Chapter 83: Aftermaths Of the Battle Still Linger

After a few minor training sessions with his Vassals to pass the time, Aden peered through a crack in the cave, the yellow hue bathing the side of his face in warmth.

The Vassals had regained their strength and lined themselves up before Aden, their expressions etched with pure determination.

Aden let out a pleased hum at the sight, but internally, he was wondering why they all looked like they were heading to the battle of their lives.

Then again, considering the trend so far, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to consider that possibility.

’Could it be that they still think Elara is waiting to capture me?’ Aden thought amusedly as he watched Zero open a space in the ceiling of the cavern.

’How amusing.’

As they climbed up the cave, certain thoughts eventually popped in Aden’s mind. One of them being Elara.

The toxically obsessive girl had actually surfaced in his mind a few times during the little moments of rest he had, but the urgencies that naturally followed afterwards pushed her to a crevice in his mind to be left unattended to.

But the possibility of stepping into her territory again caused a flicker of uncertainty to bloom.

Sure, he’d grown much stronger under a short amount of time and was confident in escaping her senses if the need arose, but the thought of another clash with her or the bodyguard that stuck close to her caused his stomach to knot.

The tremors he felt in the depths of his soul when the Entity took over the battle were incredibly devastating, and this was when his consciousness was almost completely suppressed.

He didn’t dare think about what the Entity felt during those moments.

But thinking further, he was sure it wasn’t as bad as he might’ve imagined.

“We’ve reached the surface, Master,” Zero called out calmly.

He pushed the thoughts back to the cracks in his mind at Zero’s words, and when he refocused on the surroundings, he was shocked to say the least.

The lands that presented themselves to him were in states far beyond his prediction. Imagine two halves of a land having healthy green grass and the other half extremely brown and lifeless. That was what he was presented with.

’Like the paths of Life and Death,’ Aden mused.

He took a step forward, but contrary to his expectations, the soil below didn’t make any sound. The winds blew but his silver hair didn’t flutter. Even the uncomfortable sensation he expected to feel due to the lack of sunlight never came.

He looked back at his Vassals. Each of them had similar neutral expressions as they stood at a safe distance behind him with subtle battle ready stances.

’Guess training paid off after all,’ he realized, a sense of satisfaction resting upon him and washing away any doubts that lingered.

As he walked forward with unhurried steps, he noted the changes in the environment. The silence that resided in these parts, the not-so-small changes in the geographic state of the land, but none of these posed much of a surprise.

What did, however, was the annoying stench of dead bodies that littered the way forward.

A frown formed on his face as he noticed the scattered limbs that’d been half buried under the soil, the light crimson colouration of the ground and everything in between.

’Who would’ve thought that battle would’ve caused this much collateral damage?’ he questioned. ’I expected deaths, sure, but this is a bit much, no?’

The Entity replied to the rhetorical questions Aden posed. ’Your body was quite weak at the time so I couldn’t exert all of my power. If I did, forget these little worms, the entirety of this land would’ve been eradicated from existence.’

’I didn’t ask for your input,’ Aden replied deadpan.

The Entity merely clicked his tongue and grew quiet afterwards, leaving Aden with the unsettling silence of the land he treaded upon.

After a few minutes, a chasm so deep it qualified as an abyss came into Aden’s view. The Vassals all drew in cold breaths as they were reminded of the colossal battle that happened here months ago.

Lorelei, who had been distant this entire time, let out a heavy breath.

Aden stared down the chasm with an unreadable expression. His fists clenched unnoticeably by his side as the memory of battle he had with the Saintesses reared its ugly head.

’Those Saintesses… You killed them all, didn’t you?,’ Aden questioned.

The Entity chuckled, that sinister edge that never yielded good results laced with each bout. ’I did. You were there after all.’

Aden didn’t respond immediately.

’And you should also know I didn’t kill the Princess. The question you should be asking yourself should be: Will I kill her if I was given the chance?’

’And I think we both know the answer to that question,’ the Entity replied himself, the edge of amusement never leaving his tone.

Aden didn’t say anything further and just stared a little longer at the depths of darkness before he turned back to his Vassals.

He outstretched his fingers slowly. The Redwyn ring gleamed in the setting sun, the opulence it exuded showing no signs of weariness despite the incredible amount of damage it faced.

The Vassals watched him with questioning gazes, but Zero, being the smartest of the bunch stepped forward.

“The Master is truly generous,” he spoke with a bow.

The Vassals followed his example, but Lorelei took a second longer to bow.

“Get in the ring. Lorelei said you were bound to this ring. Is that true?”

The Vassals nodded positively. Aden’s eyes flitted to Lorelei. She still wore that mask of unreadability characteristic of her battle mode.

’Is she still on her toes?’ Aden thought, but he didn’t have enough time to cater to her needs at the moment.

He gestured them to get in the ring a little faster this time, and they didn’t waste time on frivolities.

The Tenth Vassal, who had metallic claws stepped forward and was sucked in a spiral like manner. The Ninth and Eighth Vassal followed together, their claws still extended and we’re sucked inward in a similar fashion.

The Seventh and Sixth were a Mother and child. The child hooked his arms round her Mother’s neck as they were absorbed.

Only Zero and Lorelei remained. Then Aden finally noticed it.

The ten Vassals he thought he had were in actuality, Seven.

He felt a chill run up his spine.

’How come they always registered as ten during battles? Have I been miscalculating all this while? That’s impossible.’

He stared a little longer than usual at Zero and Lorelei, but neither of them held his gaze.

Eventually, he sighed resignedly and leapt several kilometers over the chasm. Lorelei followed suit after placing Zero on her back.

Despite the obvious questions they knew Aden had, none of them mentioned the missing three.

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